Why on earth would you want to do that??ÿ You have completed your survey.?ÿ You are not their consultant, realtor or title company.?ÿ?ÿ
@peter-lothian This is a separate issue from why the town never moved the traveled way to within the 1953 county layout, but was a taking document ever recorded? I did a quick online search backwards in the Worcester County Registry of Deeds, starting from that parcel's current deed, but didn't see any references to takings. I didn't try any forward searches, and I didn't quickly find anything under Town of Upton or Worcester County.
On an amusing note, it looks like somebody played a game of "Telephone" 50-odd years ago. The above 2016 plan has references to a plan by "U.S. Army Engineers." One says dated Feb. 8, 1902, and the other says dated Feb. 9, 1902. OK, one little typo. However, I thought it odd that the US Army (Corps of) Engineers would have made a plan of private property ("land [...] belonging to Mrs. Nora C. Adams and Bessie L. Cheney"). Also, even though USACE does have flood control facilities within Upton today, 1902 sounded very early for USACE to have been involved in flood control, particularly in New England.
The current deed for 47 Crockett Rd references a plan of land "belonging to Mrs. Nora C. Adams and Bessie L. Cheney, February 8, 1912, W.S. Amy, Engineer." Hmm. 1902 or 1912? U.S. Army Engineers or W.S. Amy, Engineer? Which was correct?
I followed the deeds back to one dated August 27, 1921, recorded Oct. 23, 1923, and they all have the same reference to a February 8, 1912 plan by W.S. Amy, Engineer. The next earlier deed was from 1881, thus predating either a 1902 or a 1912 plan.
Continuing with online searches in the Worcester County registry, I didn't find any relevant 1902 or 1912 plan. But the above 2016 plan mentions that it was "Traced [...] Feb. 14, 1962" from the supposed 1902 plan by the U.S. Army Engineers. Another search in the registry did turn up a plan dated February 13, 1962 (hmm, off by one day again), recorded May 15, 1962, that says it's a copy of part of a plan of land "Belonging To Mrs. Nora C. Adams & Bessie L. Cheney, Feb. 8, 1902 U.S. Army Engineers".
I'm thinking that the deeds have the correct information, and that whoever made the copy in 1962 read ?? from the 1912 plan ?? "W.S. Amy, Engineer" as "U.S. Army Engineers", and "1912" as "1902". Perhaps the 1912 plan was hard to read, but the copyist apparently didn't check the deeds. Subsequently, the misread information made it into the 2016 plan. But, without seeing the 1912 (or 1902) plan, this is a guess.
By the way, it indeed looks like USACE would not have been involved in flood control in either 1902 or 1912. The Federal government passed its first flood control legislation in 1917. See page 3 of:
https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/EngineerPamphlets/EP_870-1-29.pdf
@bill-c I did not find any taking documents, either, but the road as laid out by the county engineers was accepted as a public way at Town Meeting. I guess they never voted in the money to do the takings (which would have been just the cost to do the legal work, back then zero damages awarded being most common), and build the new road bed.
This project had a lot of interesting "issues" come to light. I noticed the W. S. Amy vs. U. S. Army issue, but did not pursue it, as it was irrelevant to my boundary survey. Also, the Town of Hopkinton GIS shows the town line running up the middle of North Pond, rather than at the westerly shore line, so it appears that the owners of the "SMALL ISLAND" on my plan are not paying property taxes to either town for that little piece of heaven. Some years ago the state legislature had authorized changing the town line to (roughly) the middle of the pond, but made it contingent upon both towns accepting the change. Hopkinton voted to accept the change, but Upton voted against it, so the town line remained at the westerly shore line.
In other news, I've caught some nice large mouth bass off the dam at the south end of the pond, and somebody in that neighborhood owns an Aquacar that he periodically takes out on the pond.
@peter-lothian Yeah, GIS / Google Maps have fanciful renderings of some MA town boundaries that run through water. Come to think of it, Google Maps even has fanciful renderings of some dry-land town boundaries. Interesting about that authorization for a change of the town line.
I've seen documents for 1950s Middlesex County road relocations in which it looks like it was the county that was doing the takings (as easements), but it's not completely clear to me. It appears that a town would petition the county commissioners for the relocation and repair of a road, the county would design and survey the layout and also do the land takings ?? without the county paying any damages ?? and then the town would be responsible for monumenting the new layout and actually building the road, paying all costs and any subsequent damages. It's as if the counties but not the towns had the authority to take land for roads back then.
Neat about the Aquacar. Hydro-survey vehicle? ????
@bill-c In Mass. both county and town governments have the authority to enact takings for roads. The difference is that the county commissions have authority that crosses municipal boundaries. They could take roads that run through more than one town, then order the town governments to pay for the construction and maintenance within their boundaries. I'm not sure if they still have that authority. Since the creation of state highway agencies in one form or another beginning in the latter half of the 1800's, the construction of longer roads has been increasingly taken over by the state.
